Night of the White Terror
by Darksage95
Summary: After several days of pranking from Zini at the park, Hazel, Aladar, Flia, and the kids decide to take the troublemaker out to the beach to allow everyone else to recover. Little do they know that their well-deserved vacation is about to become a nightmare as a creature from the ancient past returns to haunt the living. Rated T for language and blood
1. Pranks and a Well-Deserved Vacation

_Hey guys, Darksage and Marc here with a brand new DaPPA story. Now this was meant to be a Halloween story, however, due to some circumstances, we couldn't post it on time. This is a short story and is meant to happen sometime between Extinction Lasts Forever and the upcoming Prehistoric Revolution. We apologize for the huge wait. We're also working on another holiday special, the REAL Christmas special. We'll try to get that one up as soon as possible. Anyway, enjoy!_ _ **Disclaimer: We don't own Disney's Dinosaur or Prehistoric Park, just the characters we created. Any real life locations mentioned in this story are not owned by us either. We also don't own any music or references to other shows.**_

 _ **Soundtrack: Sweet Revenge by Thomas VanOosting**_

 _Nigel's Treetop Den…_

Nigel was quite busy that morning. Even with Prehistoric Park's finances secured, the Residents now outnumbered the keepers. In hindsight, the adventurer should have prepared for the sudden influx with the inclusion of Aladar's herd. Nevertheless, he had a handle on the situation.

"And there we go!" Nigel exclaimed as he sorted through the last of the paperwork for potential applicants he wished to hire. "Now I have to get these stored away."

Nigel gathered the files and proceed to make his way to the storage room section of his Treetop Den. As he opened the door of his office and took a step, he was met with a surprise.

Falling on his head was a large palm leaf filled to the brim with chilled water.

"What in the world!" The senior adventurer screamed. The top of Nigel's head was thoroughly soaked and dripped all over his clothes. Worse, the neat and immaculate files that he held were drenched as well. "Oh SONNAVAH—!"

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 _Ornithomimus Pond…_

Making the trek to _Ornithomimus Pond_ was a part of Bob's routine tasks. He would regularly make his rounds, inspecting their enclosure's condition and feed them when it was their mealtime. Today however, he was struggling to wheel the wheelbarrow of duck-feed to Ornith and her Flock.

"I don't remember this blasted thing being so heavy…" Bob mused as he finally made it to the enclosure. There to greet him were two of the prehistoric runners.

"Yo Bob! How goes it?" The young male _Ornithomimus_ called out. He was hip-bumped slightly by the older female beside him.

"Manners Follower-Axel." She lightly chastised.

"Oh, right— um… _Greetings_ Bob. How goes it?"

Ornith sighed heavily as she rolled her eyes. Hatchlings were so improper. Bob just grinned at the mother-son pair.

"Hello, Ornith. Hello, Axel." The senior keeper cordially greeted.

"Greetings Keeper-Robert." Ornith nodded as she chirped politely. "I assume you are here to drop our lunch off?"

Bob gave a short nod. "Yes ma'am. One trough of duck-feed, delivered right to your doorstep."

"Sweet! I'm starving!" Axel cheered as he dove his head into the cart of food. Ornith just groaned at her son's piggish display.

"Though, I think I'm feeling my age." Bob continued, gaining the bird-mimic leader's attention again, "The cart seemed heavier than—"

 ***CHOMP!** *

"OW!" Axel reared his head back as he held his beak in pain. "I think I bit on a rock!"

"A rock?" Ornith cocked her head questioningly. She then reached down and brushed aside some of the feed. Just under the grains of seed were a multitude of stones. "What in the name of the Homeland?"

Bob furrowed his brows in confusion. "Where did THOSE come from!?"

Bob, Ornith, and Axel spent the next hour picking all the rocks out of the pushcart before Ornith's Flock could properly enjoy their meal.

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 _Elephant Herd Grounds…_

" _Mama_ , do we have to do this today?" Mikiya whined.

In the golden grasslands of Prehistoric Park, the pachyderm sisterhood grazed upon the grass for their midday meal. At the center of the territory was the family trio of Mujaji, Mikiya, and Martha; the three pachyderms considered near royalty of Mujaji's Sisterhood.

At this moment, Mujaji softly bopped her daughter's head.

"Mikiya, you must learn these lessons," the elephant matriarch chided her calf. "When it is your turn to lead the Sisterhood, then having these lessons in leadership is important."

Mikiya huffed in exasperation. "But Mama, it's _so_ _boring_!"

Mujaji just groaned at her daughter's reluctance. Her Mammoth companion strode up to her niece and patted Mikiya's head.

"How about you think about it like this Mikiya." Martha lightly suggested. "The faster you learn these lessons, the faster you can do what ever you please afterwards."

Even though the calf didn't want to learn boring leadership lessons, she reluctantly agreed. Mujaji huffed slightly before continuing her lecture.

"As I was saying. The first thing you must learn is that you should expect the unexpect—"

" _ **AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!**_ "

The Matriarch and her family were interrupted by several members of her Sisterhood stomping and trumpeting towards them in panic. The elephant sisters cowardly blared and gathered around the leading trio.

"MATRIARCH! MATRIARCH! SAVE US!"

"What is it? What's wrong?" Mujaji was concerned about the terrified wails coming from her subordinates.

"A vicious creature leaped at our faces and attacked us!"

"'A vicious creature'?" Martha was confused. What creature could have the audacity to scare several of her elephantine sisters?

"Show me this creature," Mujaji ordered sternly. Following the frightened group of elephants, Mujaji, Martha, and Mikiya were led to a single nearby tree.

One of the Matriarch's timid followers pointed her trunk in the tree's general direction. "It's there behind the tree. It just jumped down from the branches and attacked us!"

Before Mujaji could formulate a careful plan, Mikiya swiftly made her way to the hidden mystery creature as soon as the frightened older elephant pointed.

"MIKIYA! Get back here this instant!" Mujaji trumpeted, her voice laced with stern maternal care and worry.

"I think I found it…" the tiny calf called out from behind the tree.

Mujaji and Martha expected all sorts of frightening creatures that Mikiya could have found. However, what the young calf discovered was far from the truth. In the grasp of her tiny trunk was a small stuffed toy. It was grey, with a long pink tail and comically large round ears. As Mikiya flexed her trunk around the toy, it made an adorable squeak from it's squeaker inside of it.

It was a stuffed toy mouse.

The Matriarch's right eye twitched as the pieces of her Sisterhood's terror came together. Slowly, Mujaji turned to her timid subordinates as she glared at each of them.

"Let me get this straight… you all ran away from a _TOY MOUSE!"_

As Mujaji berated her herd mates for their cowardice, Martha couldn't help but shake her head. Her modern relatives were so timid it was ridiculous. During the Ice Age, Mammoths weren't phased by the sight of miniscule rodents. They were too busy surviving sub-zero temperatures, mega-fauna predator attacks, and human hunters.

Martha sighed as she led her Matriarch's calf away. "Let's go Mikiya. Your mom is going to scream at your silly aunts for a while now."

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 _Terror Bird Fields…_

Today, Sarah was in charge of caring for Espantos. Before the advent of Communicators, the assistant vet was honestly afraid of the Miocene hyper-carnivore. According to fossil records, Espantos' kind was theorized to be an efficient, cold-blooded hunter that could swallow prey the size of _dogs_ and regularly take down mega-fauna with sledgehammer beak strikes. However, when she received her Communicator, Espantos was one of the few Residents that could brighten up anyone's day with his bubbly personality, if one were to take it in small doses; the Terror Bird's inane blabbering was an acquired taste.

Sarah was in charge of giving Espantos his lunch for the day. Surprisingly, the zany Terror Bird was actually _inside_ his enclosure, taking a dust bath. With how often the _Phorusrhacos_ breaks out of his home, it was rare to see Espantos meandering inside his intended habitat. Sarah was worried that she would have to drive around the entire park just to track him down. Said Terror Bird strode up to meet Sarah as she emptied the large bucket of ground meat into his feeding trough.

"Hello Doctor Sarah!" Espantos happily cried. "Welcome to my home!"

The blonde woman smiled at the cheerful greeting. "Hello Espantos. I'm just here to drop off your lunch. And like I said last time, I'm not a doctor, I'm a veterinarian."

The large avian shrugged his wings. "Meh, I think they're the same."

"I'm surprised to see you here Espantos. You're usually sprinting around the park to give the news."

"I was just taking a little vacation." The _Phorusrhacos_ glanced from side to side before leaning closer to the blonde vet. "Don't tell anyone, but even though I like running I get tired sometimes and like to do other things… Like knitting!"

Sarah, while perplexed at the odd snippet at the end, giggled slightly and nodded. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me."

Their small talk continued as Sarah dumped 2 more buckets of ground meat until she noticed a speck of brown lodged inside the mounds of red meat. Gingerly, the assistant vet pulled out the brown anomaly from the meat. She didn't remember grinding up brown chunks of food into the Terror Bird's lunch. Sarah then broke the fragment and gave it a curious whiff.

" _Chocolate_?" Sarah's eyes widened in terror as she snapped her gaze back to Espantos. The Terror Bird already had a mouth full of his meal.

With his mouth full Espantos mumbled, "Well, down the hatch~!"

Throwing back his head, the chocolate filled meat slid down the Terror Bird's gullet.

Assistant veterinarian Sarah trembled in fear. "Oh dear…"

Espantos' eye widened and dilated as he began to shake sporadically.

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Herd Grounds…

Aladar was making his rounds with his Herd, making sure he could satisfy whatever they might need. As he made his way closer to the main part of Prehistoric Park, his routine patrol was interrupted.

"DAD!"

Rushing up to meet the ornithopod were the young forms of Talin, Alden, Charon, and Tirech. From the looks on their faces, they were rather upset.

"What's wrong kids?" Aladar questioned.

Charon was the first to speak. "Your uncle Zini scared the living daylights out of us!"

"Yeah, he made us think that a raptor was going to eat us!" Tirech added.

Alden's sensitivity made him slightly teary eyed as he tried to reign in his feelings of fear and hurt. "Can you tell him to stop? Please Dad?"

Before he could inquire further, he was cut off again from another familiar voice.

" **ALADAR**!" An enraged feminine voice called out. Stomping toward the Alpha _Iguanodon_ was an incredibly peeved off Hazel. The young adventurer's clothes looked a little ruffled and stained with multiple greenish-brown smears. "Where is Zini?!"

The sea foam green _Iguanodon_ was stunned at the rage his human friend was displaying. "Hazel? What happened to you?"

"I spent the last 2 hours picking bu—Ah, Ah, **AH**!" Fidgeting uncomfortably, Hazel swiftly dove her hand into her shirt's neckline. In her grasp was a disgustingly large cockroach, still wriggling in her hand. Hazel immediately threw the offending insect a distance away, startling the younglings at the surprise bug projectile. "Your 'Monkey's Uncle' threw Twitch and Scorpio's roach lunchboxes into my room!"

"What's all the racket down here?" Before Aladar could respond, coming down from the sky was Flia. "Your arguing woke me up from my nap..." the _Pteranodon_ was confused at the sight of her two friends and the younglings giggling. "What?"

"Hehe… Um, Flia. You got a little something on your face." Hazel giggled, momentarily forgetting her own difficulties.

"And your wings," Aladar added behind a restrained chuckle.

Glancing down, Flia was flabbergasted at the many purple squiggly lines that marred her wings and body.

"What in Gotama's name!? WHAT HAPPENED!?" Flia shrieked.

"Well, from the tiny hand prints covering your face, this is probably Zini's work." Hazel concluded after closer inspection. She turned back to Aladar with a serious look on her face. "Aladar, what Zini is doing has got to stop."

"Look Hazel, I get that what he's doing is in poor taste, and trust me I will talk to him about it, but they're just harmless pranks," Aladar said.

Hazel huffed, "Harmless now. But what happens when someone get hur—?"

 ***BOOOOOOM!** *

The gathered group all jumped in panic at the sudden explosion followed by the sound of alarms echoing through the air from Prehistoric Park. Hazel's radio crackled to life and shouts of panic came through the walkie-talkie.

" _This is vet Sarah… it appears that Espantos ate some chocolate again."_ Following Sarah's calm and worried tone was another familiar, hyper voice.

" _AHAHAHAHAHA! I AM ESPANTOS, ALL OF YOUR BASES NOW BELONG TO ME! MWAHAHAHAHA!"_

Off in the distance, another explosion rocked the area and set fire to another section of the park.

Hazel features became despondent. "Oh no… not again."

Hazel and her friends ran off to try to rein in one of Zini's latest prank victims.

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The next day…around 8:00 AM

"We really need to pave some roads here…" Hazel muttered in slight annoyance.

"Roads?" the adult sea-colored _Iguanodon_ inquired about the girl's stray thought. He turned his head slightly so that he could see the human that was hitching a ride on his back. Unlike yesterday, when Hazel had been wearing her usual short-sleeved gray hoodie and jean shorts, she was now wearing a light-blue T-shirt and gray knee length gym shorts. While her short hair flowed in the wind, atop her head were a pair of dark brown sunglasses.

Hazel resisted the urge to face-palm. Of course, she really needed to watch her words. Her friends from 65 million years ago were new in this time. "Um, human-made pathways," she tried to explain simply. "It makes it easier for us to use our transportation. Well um, I'm not saying I don't like how we're going. I'm just saying that since we're so close to a beach, a pathway would make it easier for us to know where we're going."

"Well, there's really no need for that if we're going this way," Flia sounded from behind Hazel. Apparently, she too decided to ride on the ornithischian rather than risk herself stumbling on her own arms just from trying to keep up. "I've been down this valley so many times before. We should reach the sea in no time."

No one else replied to that comment. If a _Pteranodon_ that has been a veteran traveler says that there was an ocean nearby, then who were they to judge?

For over two hours, Hazel, along with Aladar, Flia, Zini, and the children had been trekking through the apparent route that Nigel had drawn for her. They left Prehistoric Park early morning so that they could spend a decent amount of time at the beach. Though the pathway Nigel drew out was poor in accuracy. They had to spend quite a bit of time maneuvering around the mountains of Prehistoric Park just to get to the main route to the beach. Flia had her gift of flight but would rather stay and make sure her friends did not get lost. Hazel was also grateful that Marcus switched off the park perimeter barrier to allow the prehistoric creatures to pass through. Truth be told, Hazel had never been to this area before, so she had no idea what to expect. The only thing that reassured her friends' safety was that it was an area completely devoid of tourists or natives. This meant that Hazel had no reason to fear on any unsuspecting human spotting some out-of-place prehistoric creatures.

According to the map, following the river Save would lead them directly to the coast. It was also a relief that the S.A.G.E.S reserved this area in case Nigel wanted to expand his park. So once again, there was no need to worry about anyone spotting them. The area they were walking through did not exactly look too picturesque though. The shore of the river looked sparse with silt along the edges. Very few obstructions were in the way, like rocks and vegetation. There were some sandbars too, something not too common among rivers. And the water, while it was in its natural state, looked more like a large lagoon rather than an expansive river.

The trees around the river did provide needed shade from the heat if they needed it. In fact, if they needed to make a pit stop, they could just rest under one of the native foliage or even have some food, at least for the herbivores. While the scenery was nothing much to gawk at in this half forest, half desert environment, everyone was confident that the river would lead them to their destination.

The young woman's idea of going to the beach for a relaxing day was a sound one. Other than wanting to have a day off from work and take the kids out for some fun, there was another reason why Hazel suggested that idea. The park was in slight disarray due to Espantos' sugar rush and most of the Residents were not too keen on seeing a certain yellow-furred lemur for a while.

Poor Espantos showed a rare moment of genuine anger when he was told that Zini caused his destructive sugar rush. He would have yelled at the lemur prankster, but the chocolate in his stomach induced a Terror Bird's version of the stomach flu. Right now, he was thoroughly puking his guts out to purge the cocoa in his system; miserable all the while.

The day before, Yar and Plio had given the poor young male a huge lecture on pulling pranks on those who did not find them funny. While tagging along with his friends to the beach was supposed to be a form of punishment, because he was given the task of babysitting Aladar's kids and their friends, he was relishing the thought of pulling some more pranks. The thought of the harsh lecture he received the day before seemed to be nothing but a distant memory.

The beach trip would have been more fun if their whole friend group was with them. However, each of them had their reasons to not go. Neera opted to stay because someone needed to keep an eye on the Herd. Baylene and Eema had already seen the ocean before, but would prefer to go if ALL of their group was attending. Plus they would like it if their friends could confirm the route Nigel planned for them. Yar and Plio wanted to go, but they needed to keep an eye on the lemur clan. Suri and Aya decided to stay so that they could help repair the damage done by Zini's pranks by apologizing to his "victims". The _Iguanodon_ girls, along with Mikiya, already had plans for the day by spending some time with Yin's Flock. Finally, the staff members of Prehistoric Park, including Nigel, Marcus, Bob, and Suzanne, were all too busy with running the sanctuary. However, every single one of them planned on visiting the coast on a day that wasn't too busy.

The plan for time at the beach was simple; the small group would spend 24 hours on the coast, or more if the staff in the Park needed more time to repair the damage. Hazel packed all the camping essentials, including two changes of clothes, her swimsuit, first aid, a flashlight, sunblock, a Caribbean floral beach towel, a drying towel, and her sleeping bag. And of course, she brought her trusty dagger in case they ran into any trouble.

" _Heh, what kind of trouble? This is the 21st century, not the Mesozoic era,"_ Hazel mused to herself.

The other items she was bringing was a large red mesh bag with all sorts of beach toys that a coworker in the park lent to them. In hindsight, they were not that heavy, but they sure were clunky when it came to carrying them. Thankfully, Tirech volunteered to carry them, mostly because his dad Sarge wanted his boy to get some exercise in. Hazel had to use some stretchable straps and some string just to secure them on the young ceratopsian's back as a result.

The objects within the sack were of many colors and were mostly in shapes that the prehistoric creatures had never seen before, sand castle toys, the large blue body board, the folded pink umbrella sticking out of the opening, the cooler with some cold food, and the oversized yellow beach ball. Hazel figured the kids would get bored quickly, so bringing these toys was also a good idea.

"Oh I'm so excited!" a certain young _Parasaurolophus_ squealed next to the adult _Iguanodon_. All eyes fell on the youngling as she shuddered to contain her happiness. "I've never seen the ocean before. I mean, I've only heard some details from Flia and my mom, but I really have no idea what to expect!"

"It's just a ton of water that tastes gross when you drink it," Zini, who was lying on Talin's back, remarked indifferently. The children were walking close together, but never strayed from the sight of Aladar, as it was the rule given out by their parents. Like little ducklings with their parent, they huddled close together, with Talin in the very front, Tirech and Charon in the middle, and Alden in the back.

His reply came in the form of a scoff from the hadrosaur, along with her eyes rolling. "Way to ruin the mood…"

"What?" the lemur interjected, as if sounding offended. "It's true!"

"Meh, just don't swallow it then," the elder _Iguanodon_ child shrugged his shoulders. "I for one can't wait to play in the…um...what was it called again?"

His voice trailed off, causing every single one of them to eye him in confusion. Talin stumbled on his words, even pausing when he couldn't think of what to say next. This went on for at least a few seconds before Hazel decided to help him out.

"You talking about the soft ground I mentioned before that's mostly associated with a beach and/or a desert?"

The blue-green youngling gasped and then beamed at her in satisfaction. "Yeah! That one!"

"That's sand," she explained with a chuckle. "I've never been to the beaches here before, but from what Nigel told me, their sands are really white and soft."

"Well I can't wait!" Tirech squealed. His enthusiastic jumping caused the toys on his back to rattle a bit. "Finally get to test these...uh...toys out in the field!"

"I want to do all of those…" Alden piped nearby, shyly expressing his enthusiasm.

With all of the excitement coming from everyone, Aladar could not help but crack a smile. He had not been to a beach in nearly two years. The last time he went to a beach was when his first home was…

The _Iguanodon_ closed his eyes, blocking out that memory. It was a long time ago, and he had recovered from it, but the memory of losing his extended family was too painful. He vowed to focus on the here and now, rather than wallow in the sorrows of the past. Aladar had friends, a family, a herd to lead, and a new home. He did not want to be grieving his whole life.

Pushing those thoughts aside, he returned to reality, on their trip to the beach. When he first became leader of the herd, he had never known there was a beach nearby until Flia told him some time before the impromptu transfer to Prehistoric Park. Sure, that time was rough on everyone, especially since he got scarred for life by the Fireball, but everything started to look up after that. Even Hazel mentioning that the valley they now lived in was the Nesting Grounds in the future made things better.

"Okay everyone. I know you're excited about going to the beach," he brought everyone's attention to him. "But there are going to be some ground rules."

"Aw, come on Dad!" Talin complained, showing his distaste.

"Aladar, I don't think this is quite necessary," Charon politely told him. "Our parents already told us what we need to do."

"I know, but it's just so that I understand that all of you get the point," the de facto leader explained. All of the kids groaned, and even Flia and Hazel could not help but sigh and roll their eyes. Zini, on the other hand, did not even bother to listen, as he was on the verge of dozing off.

"Rule one: stay in the shallows. I don't want anyone drowning. If anything happens to either of you," he eyed all of the kids. "Your parents are going to have my head."

His attention then went to his two sons, causing both boys to shudder in fear. Even Aladar couldn't help but feel slightly anxious. "And I definitely don't want to think of what your mother would do to me if you two got into some kind of danger."

The boys nodded their heads in earnest, understanding completely on what was expected of them. While Alden never got into any sorts of trouble before, Talin had a number of misadventures in the past. There were times when his mother Neera would give him a mouthful for doing something stupid like staying out late at night or going to the mountains in the valley without supervision. It was those times that he learned his mother may appear nice, but she can be like a predator should he get into any trouble.

"Rule two," Aladar continued. "Stay within Hazel's, Flia's, and my line of sight. This is new territory. We don't know what to expect. Plus, there may be some creatures out here that won't be as friendly as our friends back in the valley."

"Wait, but we're in a different time period," Talin interrupted his father, thinking about the situation. "If I can remember what I heard some time ago, there really aren't any huge predators that would kill us. At least, the ones from our time."

The adult alpha was about to interject when a certain human beat him to it. All eyes fell on Hazel as she added to Aladar's warning. "That's partially correct Talin. But, you're still young. The predators in this time period wouldn't dare pick on anyone the size of your dad here or Flia because they've never seen them before. However, there are still predators you should watch out for; lions, hyenas, painted dogs, heck even venomous snakes! The list goes on. Oh and let's not forget the water. If you see something sharp and curved move around on the surface, that's a shark. Then there are-"

"Okay I think they get the picture!" Flia quickly said after placing her clawed fingers over her friend's mouth. The Asian fell silent and then groaned. Moments later, the _Pteranodon_ released her grip and gestured the adult _Iguanodon_ to continue.

Aladar nodded at them and then returned his gaze on the children. "You see? We may be in a new place, but we still need to keep our guard up. And last but not least, there's the third rule. Behave yourselves. Don't do anything stupid."

His eyes then fell on a certain lemur that had apparently fallen asleep on his eldest son's back. Slight frustration and disappointment appeared on his features due to the fact that his adopted uncle appeared to not be listening. Aladar furrowed his eyes and called out to him.

"Zini, I hope you're listening," he warned, causing the lemur to jolt up and turn to the dinosaur.

"What!? Oh yeah! Yeah I got it! Stay out of trouble, don't wander off, and don't go to the deep end in the ocean," the lemon-hued mammal reassured. He also waved his hand out in a swiping motion as if to wipe something away. "Not a problem."

Aladar sighed and turned his attention forward. Apparently, he had been listening. Still, that did not stop him from worrying about his safety...and everyone else's.

"Well, now that that's out of the way," Hazel optimistically sounded. "Let's not let some rules drag us down. We're going to the beach to have fun. This is going to be the best day ever!"

That would be true...if there wasn't any danger. None of them noticed a large shape in the river pop up for a second and then submerge. If any of them had been paying any attention, it was that of a large predator that was eyeing his next potential meals. The small group had no idea that their perfect beach day was going to turn into a nightmare.


	2. A Not So Fun Day Under the Sun

_**Soundtrack: Beach Party by Derek and Brandon Fiechter/Sneaky Sly (Underground Weasels) by Thomas VanOosting/Tropical Island by Derek and Brandon Fiechter/Salty Possum by Thomas VanOosting**_

Sometime later…

Southern Coast of Mozambique

The crashing of crystal blue waves. The smell of salt in the air. The wind rustling through the palms. Sand as white as sugar. Skies as blue as the sea below it. This place was truly a paradise.

The dinosaurs, lemur, _Pteranodon_ , and human all gawked and gasped at the sight. They just traversed nearly an army of palm trees, fallen foliage, and any other of nature's obstacles in their path. The first sign they were getting close to the beach actually came from the smell of salt in the air. The kids were curious at the new scent, but the adults knew better because they grew up near beaches. It then turned into a sort of race for the kids on who would get to the beach first, with Charon being the winner.

It was about 10:30 in the morning by the time they arrived. The sun wasn't at its peak just yet, but it was getting pretty hot. The shore was a quarter of the way covered by water and inching closer by the minute, signaling the coming of the high tide. Quite a few amount of shells lay strewn near the crashing waves, decorating the shore with their mysterious beauty.

"Wow! So this is what a beach looks like!" Charon squealed in excitement.

"Eh, looks nice," Zini shrugged. Hopping off of his ride, he made his way to a nearby palm tree and climbed to the top to get a better view. "I guess it does remind me of the island."

"Well, this place hasn't changed a bit," Flia pointed out as she scanned the vast shoreline. She also noticed the flocks of seagulls cawing above them and heading towards the ocean. "Well, almost. But at least there's no shortage of fish."

"And it's huge!" Tirech beamed with enthusiasm. He then looked over at the human atop the male _Iguanodon_ , who was enchanted by the scenery. "Hazel, could you get this thing off me? I'm really itching to run!"

The girl looked over at the ceratopsian. She could clearly see the _Pachyrhinosaurus_ was rearing to be released from his bonds. Sighing, Hazel hopped down from her perch on Aladar and landed nimbly on a small patch of dead leaves. Getting up from her crouched position, she made her way to the knob-nosed child and undid the straps on his body. The mesh bag fell like a rock, and Tirech bolted into the wide expanse of sand.

"Whoo! The sand here feels awesome! It's warm too!" he relished under the sun. As if on cue, the other children ran after him to try out the new territory.

"Hey you're right!" Talin exclaimed with a giggle. "The sand is warm!"

"And soft! It's better than grass!" Alden added, catching up to his elder brother.

"Hey last one to the water is a rotten egg!" Charon challenged. Her sprinting immediately gained speed.

"What!? Now!? But we just raced already…" Tirech groaned.

As the children made their way towards the water, the adults were slowly making their way through the shore. Well, just Aladar and Flia. Zini chose to remain behind in the treeline for whatever reason. As for Hazel, she told her friends to go on ahead while she...prepared herself. They had no idea what she meant by that, which caused her to reiterate her phrase by telling them she needed some MUCH needed privacy.

Their curiosity on what was doing was sated when she caught up to them a few minutes later. Rather than being in her T-shirt and shorts attire, she was in a completely new get-up. She was now wearing a tankini, with the navy blue top tied around her neck to hold up the attire. A strip of light blue spanned the upper part of her chest and a half ring connected the neck straps. Her bottom was a short flowing skirt that had waves at the bottom and looked like it wrapped around her waist. Dangling around her neck was a pair of blue goggles, which left the prehistoric creatures in a state of utter confusion as to what it was for.

"Okay! Now I'm ready," she shot them a smile before putting her hands on her hips.

"Um…" Aladar uttered as he observed the new outfit his friend was wearing. Honestly, he may have been in the present for a short period of time and was getting accustomed to being around humans, but he was still not used to how human cultures worked. "Hazel? What's that on your body?"

"What?" she cocked an eyebrow at him. "Oh! This is my bathing suit."

"A bathing suit?" Flia went next, this time widening her eyes at the mention of that new term. "What's it for?"

Hazel let out a little sigh. She expected this sort of thing to happen, not that she minded it. "A bathing suit is something we humans use when we're about to swim. It's hard to explain...but it's sort of the same reason why we wear clothes. I'd rather not get into detail."

Both Cretaceous denizens could see the girl's cheeks flaring red a little. They could not tell if it was the sun or just out of sheer embarrassment. Whatever the case, both of them hoped they were not making their human friend any more uncomfortable.

"Are you saying it's some sort of protection?" Flia asked her, albeit hesitantly.

"Oh! Oh yeah! It's protection alright!" Hazel nervously spat out. "It's so that it would protect portions of our bodies from...uh getting cold in the water! Also it reduces the risk of getting sunburned."

Those weren't the full truths, but deep down, the woman hoped they would at least buy those alibis. Thankfully, she didn't need to worry about it any further.

"Well, if you say so. Just never seen it before," the _Iguanodon_ shrugged his shoulders. "Honestly, there are so many things in this time that neither of us are used to. You should give us some lessons so we could at least know what's going on."

"Oh alright…"

Hazel rolled her eyes then knelt down. The tide was now at their feet. In mere moments, the water would be up at her ankles. Feeling the water, she relaxed as the warm water touched her skin. It was warmer than she expected. But feeling the water was not in her agenda at the moment…

The girl swiped her left hand across the surface of the water. The amount of liquid she scooped with her hand created a curtain for a split-second in the air before landing on two unsuspecting prehistoric creatures. Both of them yelped in surprise, causing them to either cough, shake off the water, or wipe it away from their eyes.

"Hey!" Aladar coughed out some of the water.

"But I think I'd rather have some fun first," she gave them a devious smirk.

"Hazel! You little sneak! You got water up my nose!" Flia ranted as she chased after the Asian on the shoreline. Because she was a flyer, her running speed was something to laugh at. Well, in dinosaur terms. She was running as fast as Hazel after all. Her limbs were made for flying, not for running on land. The _Pteranodon_ looked like she was a stumbling duck rather than a pterosaur that was trying to chase after its prey.

Her answer came in the form of a laugh. "Come on Flia! You're a pterosaur! You practically dive out of the sky just so you could catch food! I bet you got water up your nose a couple of times before!"

"Yes but this one was a provoked action! Now get back here so you could receive some punishment!"

As the duo played the game of Cat and Mouse, Aladar stood by and watched the amusing scene before him. The sight of his sons and their friends playing in the water, along with Hazel being chased by Flia off to the side made him chuckle. The day had gone off without a hitch. No predators stalking them, having the beach all to themselves, and absolutely no pranks. He hoped their time away from the park would stay perfect.

Unfortunately for the _Iguanodon_ , his dream of having a perfect vacation was too far-off. Back in the treeline, Zini had been watching his friends frolic around in the sun and the surf for the past several minutes. While his excuse was to admire the scenery, he was really brooding over his next bit of fun he was going to pull at the beach. Yar and Plio may have given him that unnecessary lecture on respecting other's spaces and not pulling pranks in excess, but whatever they had told him apparently went in one ear and out the other.

"Man, those two really have no idea how to have any fun. Why can't they see the joy of playing jokes on everyone?" he folded his arms grumpily.

"Well they're not here. I can do whatever I want. Time to have some fun!" the ancient primate cackled.

With his swift and nimble movements, Zini scaled down the tree with ease. New ideas for his next pranks swam in his mind; all of which were reserved on his companions. While they weren't evil, he hoped they would at least see the humor in them rather than taking them as insults. At least, that was what he was thinking.

He had no idea that he was digging his own grave.

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About an hour later…

The beach day was going on smoothly. It was about close to noon and the day was starting to get a bit hot. High tide was at its peak and the waves were getting bigger. The shore was a little over halfway covered in water.

After getting some well-deserved punishment from Flia in the form of getting knocked into the water, Hazel retreated to the shade of the trees to set up their base. It was a good thing she brought a beach tarp and an umbrella, otherwise their time at the beach was really going to stink. The girl chose a nice place to set up their "camp", which was a few feet away from the trees, but not too close to the water. At least neither of her friends would have to worry about coconuts hitting their heads.

With the pink umbrella now set up, she could resume getting back into having fun at the beach. It was a good thing Suzanne let her borrow it, otherwise they would have to rely on resting under the palm trees for some shade. Not that there was anything wrong with that. What she did find hilarious was her friends thinking the umbrella was some kind of huge flower. Hazel couldn't blame them, she thought it did look like a flower when she first got it from Suzanne the day before. She also had to convince them it was for creating shade from the sun and NOT for eating.

Speaking of shade, she and Alden were playing in the sand under the colorful human contraption. The pails and shovel the human used were strewn about under the umbrella. Bits of sand fluttered out from the breezes wafting through. The duo were attempting to recreate the Prehistoric Park/Nesting Grounds valley. They already got the mountains made, along with the tiny hills within the park, the waterways, the lake in the Herd Plains (complete with a small depression of water), and the areas where the various enclosures would be at. The young purple _Iguanodon_ managed to scrounge up some twigs and leaves for them to use to recreate the park in detail. Already, they were working on bunching up some small leafy plants on a portion of their model to represent the Titanosaur Treetops.

"Now all we need are some small figures to represent our buddies at the park," Hazel remarked.

"How are we going to do that?" Alden asked her.

"Well, if there aren't any shells and rocks that look like the Residents, I suppose drawing them out would be best."

The ornithischian eyed in confusion. "Drawing?"

"It's something we humans do. It's hard to explain, but we draw things so that we could create symbols, make messages, and a whole bunch of other stuff," she answered to the best of her ability.

"Oh. Okay then. Well, you could draw Yin and her Flock," Alden pointed out.

The girl immediately grabbed for the nearest stick and began to draw on the ground. Unfortunately, if she were paying any attention, she would have noticed a certain lemur climb up the stalk of the umbrella with one of the green mini pails he had stolen from the toy bag. Zini bore a mischievous expression; his lips curled back to stifle the giggles that were close to escaping his maw.

The bucket he had stolen was filled to the brim with all sorts of bugs he found in the forest, just covered with a leaf to prevent them from escaping. All sorts of beetles, cockroaches, worms, centipedes, and spiders mindlessly crawled around in the pail. It took him quite a while to find these bugs, but the result was going to be worth it.

Using his feet to grasp the prongs within the umbrella, the lemur slowly removed the leaf to reveal the frantic bugs trying to escape. The insects squirmed within the open prison like the helpless bugs they were. Some of them were trying to escape too. Grabbing both the rim of the bucket and the bottom, he tipped the pail to release the insects onto his chosen target…

"Agh!" Hazel let out a girly scream. Something cold and ticklish had touched her back and even landed on her head. Looking all around her and her surroundings, she was horrified to see so many bugs crawling over her body.

It was at that moment that Zini made his escape. Using his nimble movements, he retreated down the umbrella and hid behind the bags Hazel brought with her. He watched the hilarious scene before him from the safety of the unusual fort while stifling his laughter.

Heck even Alden was surprised by what just happened. The bugs did not scare him, but he did back away in apprehension of the bugs with the huge pincers. All of them were pretty much crawling around their makeshift valley and on the beach tarp. But the insects that were skittering near him were nothing compared to what was happening to his human companion.

Shrieking like a siren, Hazel got up and ran around in circles before heading towards the water. "Holy shit! Get these things off of me!"

Normally, Hazel was not afraid of bugs. Mostly because she would visit Ben and the other Carboniferous insects in the Bug House. But being surprised by a ton of bugs being dumped on her and crawling over her body was something she would not take lightly.

"Get'em off me! GET'EM OFF ME!"

As she ran, the bugs would either hang on to her or fall back onto the sand, creating a trail of helpless insects. Her freaking out had also attracted the attentions of Aladar, Flia, and the other kids, who were playing in the water. They watched as she ran for the waves near them and submerged.

"What happened to her?" Tirech wondered after letting out a sneeze.

"Beats me," Talin answered him, shrugging his shoulders.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next pranks Zini pulled were slightly trickier than the first. All of them took practically a large fraction of the beach day to pull off. And all of them required the lemur to utilize stealth to avoid detection.

This one involved the use of a small bluish-green crab he found meandering along the beach. Using that same pail with the bugs from the first prank, he carefully scooped up the crab, all the while avoiding those annoying claws, and placed it in the green bucket. The plan he had for the crab was pretty much the same as the last one. All he had to do was to find a suitable target and throw it at them.

His chance came when he noticed Flia taking a nap close to the umbrella Hazel set up before. With the experience of being covered in bugs running rampant through the human's mind, the rest of their group were doing their best on getting her to forget the event. However, all of them were thinking about how a ton of bugs got to be within a closed human contraption like an umbrella. Nevertheless, they did not let one little mishap ruin their day.

While Hazel, Aladar, and the children were walking along the beach for some sea shells, the _Pteranodon_ volunteered to stay behind to keep an eye on the premises. Her guard dog duty ended up making her fall asleep via the combination of the sound of the waves and the warm weather.

The purple and brown crested flyer was in one of her usual stances. The first one was her folding her wings around her during cold times, like during the nights in the migration. This time was different. Her wings were tucked under her body and her head was down low. From far away, it looked like she was squatting.

Utilizing this chance, Zini crept close to the sleeping _Pteranodon_ and placed the crab close to her feet. His plan now in motion, he fled to his hiding spot behind the beach toys and then hid under the tarp.

The signal that his plan went off without a hitch came in the form of a surprised shriek. Had he been looking out from the beach blanket, he would have seen Flia running around in circles, trying to get the crab off of her feet. If anyone could guess why the crab did that, it would have probably been that Flia's feet may have looked like some kind of food.

"Ow ow ow! Leave me alone you stupid pinchy thing!"

The ending result came in the form of the pterosaur piercing the crustacean's shell with her beak. The creature flailed its arms up before becoming lifeless. And as a form of revenge, she began to devour the poor thing's carcass before tending to her new throbbing toe wound.

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As the day wore on, the lemur performed pranks that were worse than the last. They were all starting to think that nature was trying to give them a hard time when it was really a certain lemur who just couldn't stop with his antics. After the group returned from their shell hunting/relaxing walk on the beach, and tending to Flia's new injury, the group decided to have a bit of lunch before playing some more. The lemur was having problems thinking of the next harmless prank due to the annoying rumbling from his stomach. All this pranking and planning was making him hungry.

While Aladar and the children were off into the woods to munch on some greens, Hazel remained behind with the lemur to have some lunch of their own. It was also a relief to the lemur that Flia was flying around the coast for some much needed fish. He was really getting sick of the flyer, and everyone else, questioning him on his whereabouts. His only response was him exploring the treeline for any edible fruits.

The Asian had apparently packed some fruits and vegetables for their pleasure. The ancient primate devoured the apples, carrots, watermelon slices, and grapes within a few minutes. Hazel also had her fair share of fruits and vegetables, but also packed a couple of fried fish sandwiches from the Park cafe, some seasoned sweet potato fries, and a bottle full of orange juice. Zini was not really into the awkward smell of the human food, but he paid no mind to it.

Thankfully, the yellow lemur got the opportunity he needed when everyone was done with eating. Once the food was stowed away, everyone, minus Aladar and Charon, went back to the water do have some more fun. Hazel found the large waves and moderate currents to be the perfect backdrop for some body-boarding action. The group was amazed as they watched the human ride the waves with the seemingly flattened plank. Of course, they wanted a shot on the board.

Hazel used the velcro to attach the strap onto Flia's leg. The idea was to have her tug at least one or two of the kids along the coast like sled dogs would to a sled in the Arctic. The plan went off well, with Talin, Alden, and Tirech taking turns on riding the board.

While everyone was having fun, Aladar and Charon remained at the home base to digest their meal. They actually ate so much food that they had fallen asleep. It was the perfect opportunity for a certain devious lemur to pull his next prank.

Zini went over to the cooler close to him and opened the cover. During the lunch period, Hazel had stored away the leftover fries from her meal into a Ziploc bag. He also noticed that her food had attracted some unwanted attention in the form of the local seagulls. Those grey and white birds stayed close to them as she ate and were attempting to get a bite of her food. But Hazel was so hungry that she was very protective of her lunch. A few swipes of her hand on an incoming seagull sent it cawing away from them.

A number of them did stay there, only because they were snacking on a piece of carrion along the beach that the water dropped off.

Zini quickly opened the bag and grabbed as many fries as he could before closing the cover of the cooler. The seasoning smell along with the greasy sensation unnerved the ancient primate. Never once had he smelled something so peculiar and felt so icky before. But his prank was worth it.

Carefully placing the fries all over Charon's body and nearby Aladar's caused the surrounding gulls to come at them like voracious wolves. All of them jolted up and were attempting to swat the gulls away when they themselves smelled like, and were covered in, human food.

The young _Parasaurolophus_ was so annoyed by the birds' attempts at pecking at her for any bits of food stuck on her or simply because she smelled like the food that she ran off screaming towards the water. The human-made campsite was also infested with gulls. Aladar was bellowing at them, getting them to fly away from the area.

"Buzz off! Get some food elsewhere but not here!" he hollered at them.

His job of chasing the birds off was easy. However, he was annoyed not only because he smelled like French fries, but also because of the amount of mishaps this tiny group was getting today. The _Iguanodon_ did find it peculiar that these problems appeared to be planned out. And for the first time today, he realized that he was right.

Laughing just a few feet away from him, and rolling on the ground laughing, was Zini. Rolling his eyes, he marched over to his adopted uncle with a fury held at bay.

His sudden appearance made the lemur cease his uncontrollable giggling. The little monkey's expression turned from amusement into anxiety within a split second. He took in a huge gulp as he stared up at the behemoth dinosaur, all the while trying not to make any eye contact with him.

"Hey Aladar," he nervously greeted. "How's it hanging?"

"Zini," Aladar glared at him, making the young male cower in fear. "We need to talk."


	3. The Legend of the White Terror

_**Soundtrack: Lonesome Campfires by Graham Preskett/Suite for Glass Armonica by Thomas VanOosting/Come Out and Play Creepy Music Box/Horror Chase by Stoyan Ganev**_

Sunset…

The rest of the day seemed to go along quietly, save for the kids, Hazel, and Flia playing in the beach. Zini had been caught red-handed and was forced to stay confined at the campsite via a makeshift "leash" tied to the cooler as a form of punishment. Now he looked like some kind of pet monkey rather than a prehistoric primate from 65 million years ago.

Sunset came very quickly when having a lot of fun at the beach. Like midday, the dinosaurs went off into the forest to gorge on some foliage while the lone _Pteranodon_ went off to catch some fish for herself. As for Hazel, she remained at the camp area to have her own dinner, set up the campfire, AND to keep an eye on Zini. She kept watch over his every move even while he munched on his small bowl of fruits.

The campfire pit that the human prepared was not lit until the skies took on a rose tint. But even before she lit the wood she gathered from the forest earlier that day, she managed to store away the umbrella since they did not need it anymore. The many sticks and logs she gathered lay just next to the fire, and would be enough to last the night.

She even managed to get dressed into her light blue T-shirt and gym shorts while she was in the forest. The incoming darkness provided her with the perfect setting needed for a quick change. Sleeping in her bathing suit wasn't exactly on her agenda.

It wasn't very long before nearly everyone reconvened at the camp area. The children sat around the pit, with Talin being at the very right and Alden at the very left. In the middle sat Charon and Tirech, who were the closest to the dancing flames so as to attain warmth. Hazel, on the other hand, sat on the other side of the flames so that she could sit next to the lone adult _Iguanodon_. The only one who had not returned was Flia, whom everyone thought was busy catching some more fish either for herself or for Hazel.

The silence was broken when a certain young ceratopsian let out a really loud burp.

"Tirech! That's gross!" Charon scoffed as she expressed her distaste.

"What? Dad says it's okay. Besides, I'm stuffed," he defended with a bit of humor in his tone.

"Seriously, where are your manners?" the _Parasaurolophus_ glared at him.

"Probably taking a vacation at the moment," Tirech giggled, making the hadrosaur roll her eyes.

"All right, settle down," Aladar sounded to break the tension between the two.

"Hey Aladar," Hazel said, attracting his attention.

"Yeah Hazel?"

"I've been wondering, since we're around a campfire, and it's almost night, did you have any scary stories that you were told when you were young?"

The _Iguanodon's_ eyes widened and sputtered at his responses before getting one out of him. "Oh...well...yeah I've been told a few."

It was at that moment Tirech let out a gasp. "Is it storytime!? Awesome!"

"Scary stories?" Charon smirked. "You know those aren't real, right?"

"Who cares!" the _Pachyrhinosaurus_ beamed.

"Um...I don't know," Alden whimpered. He slouched down slightly into a ball, showing his fear. "Is it really that scary?"

"Alden," Talin rolled his eyes and looked over at his cowardly brother. "The point of a scary story is to scare you. So of course it's going to be scary."

A whimper escaped the maw of the youngling. Seeing this reaction, Hazel scooted over to the youngster and wrapped her arm around his body. Alden huddled close to the human, who would provide him with ample amount of protection should he need to hide.

"It's okay Alden," she reassured while stroking his back gently with her fingers. "If anything happens, we'll be here to protect you."

The purple youngling rubbed his head against her body. A smile creased his face, showing his appreciation of her protection.

The tender moment was broken when Aladar cleared his throat. The entire audience focused on him, and awaited his response to the human's request.

"Alright, as I said before, I was told a few scary stories when I was your age. But I should warn you, if they scared me when I was little, then they'll scare you big time," he gave them a warning look.

"Pfft...come on. Scary stories? Dad, we fessed up to a ton of predators before, and we practically live with a number of them," Talin gave him a smug grin. His overconfidence was clearly expressed on his features. However, to everyone who know him very well, the youngling could easily be scared given the circumstances. "Whatever you say isn't going to scare me."

"Oh we'll see son…" Aladar returned the gesture, accepting the challenge given to him. "Because tonight's story...is the Legend of the White Terror."

The ominous silence the _Iguanodon_ was trying to give off was broken when a certain lemur sputtered out in amusement. "The White Terror? Oh man, I know this story. This is the sort of thing Yar and the other elders would tell the kids to make it in time for curfew or something. I've stayed out at night until morning and haven't seen a White Monster anywhere. That thing's not real!"

"That's probably because you've been lucky on those times Zini," he glared at his uncle before returning his attention to the audience. "But the idea on whether he's real or not is still a mystery…"

Aladar cleared his throat and began to weave his dark tale to his companions. The fire crackled amidst the crashing of the waves. Due to the flames dying down a bit, Hazel quickly put in another log to allow it to grow in size. The warmth of the flames encompassed the group and filled them with its warmth.

"A long time ago, long before any of us were born, the world we knew did not exist yet. The land was filled with forests beyond anyone's imagination. Rushing waters were found in every part of the land you went to. Anywhere you looked, there wasn't any shortage of food. Yes, there were the problems that we faced before, but everyone coped with them in their own way. This was a time long before the Fireballs hit."

"Peace reigned for many generations," the _Iguanodon_ continued cryptically. "But sometimes, peace does not last for very long. For everywhere you turned, a land with promise also has its own set of problems. Especially for anyone living close to the sea."

"Why's that?" Charon piped, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Aladar responded in a most blatant, yet foreboding fashion. "Because of the dangers that lay within the waters. You see, not many like to venture to the sea because of the predators that lurked within the surface. But, there was one that even the most dangerous water monsters feared. The monster that I speak of was huge, bigger than any predator we know of. Bigger than the rexes back at the valley, bigger than Irwin, and even bigger than Diablo. His hide was so white, your very eyes would burn at the sight of him. His teeth were sharper than any predator on land, and his limbs were so powerful that they were said to make everything he tread on tremble. The monster that I speak of...is Phorcys."

Hazel tilted her head to the side. One of her eyebrows arched up, showing her suspicions. _"Phorcys? Wait, this can't be a total coincidence? Phorcys is of Greek origin. He was said to be the ancient sea god of the dangers of the deep. Another mystery to solve I guess."_

While she felt like pondering about the connection between ancient Greek mythology and prehistory, there was another detail that the human wanted to know about. It was something that was making her dinosaur classification habits kick in.

"This...Phorcys you speak of. Was he streamlined? Did he have a long neck? What other characteristics did he have?"

The dinosaur cocked his head up in a manner that showed he was wondering about those questions. But nonetheless, he answered them to satisfy his human friend's curiosity. He may have heard stories about Phorcys, but he did his best to scrounge up what little information he heard from his childhood on the island.

"Well, he was huge. He didn't have a long neck. And from what I heard from the lemur elders, he had really huge jaws."

"I see…" Hazel hesitantly replied. Those were the only clues she got from Aladar, but they did provide her with a slightly better description of the monster. Once again, she began to ponder on the identity of this creature.

" _Judging from his description, Phorcys may be some kind of Pliosaur. Probably a Pliosaurus, or a Liopleurodon. But Liopleurodon may be a long shot, as they were abundant during the Jurassic period. Then again, Baylene's kind was as well and I found her with the herd some time ago...these mysteries just keep coming."_

"Thanks. Um...sorry about that. You can continue," she gestured with a waving hand signal.

Aladar nodded and continued. "No one knows a lot about Phorcys or where he came from. All we do know was that he was a monster. Anyone who ventured too close to the shore was said to disappear into the jaws of Phorcys. He's fast too; even if you spent a moment in the water, he'll just appear from within the waves to catch you."

"Phorcys could eat just about anything," he continued. "Even if you were a carnivore that herds feared or if you were a pack of swift meat-eaters, he could take you on without a sweat. His carnage knew no bounds either. Bones of his victims would litter many shores, and the blood of his recent kills would stain the pristine waters and sands. This went on for many years...but not for long."

"Oh boy, here we go," Zini huffed offhandedly. He was listening to the story, but wasn't really paying too much attention because he had heard of this story many times in his youth. The nights when Yar or another elder would repeat the story was grating to his ears because he heard it so many times. It was in fact a bore to him at this point.

"The ancestors of Zini and our friends back at home were traveling in search of another place to live. They had been displaced from their original home in the mainland because of predators and storms. Their search for a peaceful land brought them to a large clump of rock that was connected to the mainland by a long narrow strip. On that rock was a huge forest, with trees so green, whole generations could just survive off of them for many years. But the only way to get there was the long pathway that connected it to the mainland. Leading them was Marius, who I heard was known as the first patriarch of the island."

"And my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather," Zini interjected with little enthusiasm. All eyes fell on the lemur that was now lying on his back, his arms cradling his head as he stared blatantly at the stars. "Not sure if that's the right number, but yeah. I've got a celebrity in the family."

"As I was saying…" Aladar called everyone back to him, brushing off his uncle's rude act of interrupting the story. "Marius was leading his clan to the island when suddenly...out from the waves came Phorcys! The White Terror himself!"

All of the kids gasped and began to quiver in fear.

"One by one, he slammed his great jaws on the pathway. The lemurs may have had speed on their side, but Phorcys had size and power. Using his massive strength, he broke apart the pathway that connected the mainland, causing the lemurs to flee to the island. A number of them were able to make it to the shores, but at the price of a few. Phorcys managed to get his jaws on some unlucky ones…"

"No those poor lemurs!" Alden cried with tears in his eyes.

"Marius had enough," the youngling's father continued with determination in his voice. "After telling the remaining members of his family to get to the shore, he found a stick drifting in the water and carried it with him. He may have been small compared to the monster, but that did not stop him from challenging him. Marius fought Phorcys until the sun set. His family watched as the huge monster disappeared beneath the water, no doubt from predators snacking on his flesh from his many wounds. But Marius survived the battle, and was reunited with his family. The battle was won, and peace finally returned…or so they thought."

"Wait what?" Hazel asked in complete earnest. As much as she liked the story, the fact that some prehistoric creature could come back from the dead to haunt the living seemed really absurd. "But...he's dead. Right?"

"That Hazel, is something that is still left unanswered. You see, a few years after Marius' battle against Phorcys, some rumors went around the island of a pure white shape gliding under the water's surface on dark nights. The waters would churn and the waves would become rough in its presence. The rumors got worse when word of disappearances occurred during the times of those sightings. Some witnesses were horrified to see a giant monster jump out from the waters and gobble their friends whole. His white hide glistened in the night, his teeth as sharp as rocks, and a single glowing yellow eye staring at his would-be victims. And the one thing that would make even the bravest of creatures cower in fear was his roar-"

 **ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAR!**

All of the children, especially Hazel, screamed in fear of the sudden sound that came from behind their protective storyteller. The younglings huddled together for protection, while the lone human quickly made her way to the nearest edge of the beach blanket to get under.

Even Aladar was taken by surprise. He yelped in shock before getting up to see what had surprised everyone so. His defensive stance obtained a harsh tone when he saw Zini laughing on the ground with a huge white conch shell in his hands. Turns out he grabbed onto one of the shells the kids found on the beach earlier that day as a way for him to amplify his voice.

"HAHAHAHAHAHHAHA! I can't believe you guys fell for that! Whew! Perfect timing Aladar!"

"Zini that wasn't funny!" Talin protested as he did his best to hide his quivering.

"Oh you asshole!" Hazel scowled after getting out from the blanket. "How the hell did you escape your leash!?"

"You didn't secure me very well," he snickered when he held up the loosened rope that was attached to the cooler. "But man! That was hilarious! You should have seen your faces!"

"That's it Zini!" the human growled as she stomped over to the mischievous lemur. "I've had enough of your antics! Your pranks and rude behavior are making this the worst vacation ever! You have no regard for other's feelings!"

Seeing Hazel get all pent up like this caused the adult _Iguanodon_ to get in front of Zini. The girl stopped in her tracks, utterly bewildered at the action he was taking.

"Hazel calm down! There's no need to get all violent about this," he tried to reason with her.

"Sorry Aladar, but he's really gone too far this time! It's time he gets taught a lesson! When I'm through with him, he's going to be shark food!"

"Hey hey come on!" the yellow primate chuckled when he maneuvered his way around one of Aladar's hooves. "It's just a practical joke. I didn't hurt anyone!"

"Doesn't matter! I won't let this go unpunished!" Hazel sneered at him as she prepared to throttle the poor primate.

"Hazel wait!" Aladar commanded her.

Just then, a scream sounded off in the distance. All of them turned in the direction of the occurrence, which was oddly enough in the direction of the ocean. The sun may have fully set, but they could see well enough through the fading blues of twilight.

In the distance, a shape was frantically flapping over the water from left to right. Judging from the large wingspan and the distinct upright crest on the head, it was easy to tell that it was none other than Flia. Those who had better eyesight could clearly see the frightened look on her face.

In their natural time periods, pterosaurs, especially large ones, had a number of things to fear. Weather, sickness, starvation, dehydration, and the usual predators that would hunt down reckless flyers that would be on the ground were the only things a flyer had to fear. However, this was the 21st century, meaning that Flia shouldn't have anything to worry about, unless a large shark or a migrating crocodile was taking a risk by attacking a prehistoric creature with a wingspan that's larger than an albatross.

In this case, Flia seemed to be trying to escape from something beneath the surface of the dark ocean.

"Go away!" she pleaded while flapping frantically towards the shore. "Leave me alone!"

"Flia!?" Hazel called to her with worry. "Flia, what's wrong?"

"Monster! In the water! Help!" was all she said.

"A monster?" Aladar went next. "What are you talking about!?"

"It's big! It's mean! It's white! And it's-AAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Those were the last words she said before something white and large snapped its jaws onto her body. Everything happened so quickly; the large shape that grabbed ahold of the sky scout dragged her into the depths of the sea. The wake that it created when it slammed its jaws onto the water surface made the liquid rise for only a moment. White frothy foam danced on the water before dissipating. The ripples the monster created were so large it they were able to reach the shore.

No one said anything for what seemed to be long minutes. Everyone's eyes widened in horror as one of their dearest friends lost her life to some unknown beast that she could not fight. Tears welled up in their eyes as they fought to hold back their sadness. The only one who seemed to be in control of himself, but feel just as much sorrow as anyone was Aladar.

However, the same could not be said for Hazel. Out of everybody at the beach, she was hit the hardest.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" she screamed at the top of her lungs before falling to her knees. Her legs were met by sharp shells that pierced her skin. Blood oozed out of her new puncture wounds. But her own health did not concern her at all. Joining her with their own sobs were Tirech and Alden, who were just as heartbroken as she was.

"She...she's gone…" Talin said in a loud whisper. "Just like that…"

"No she's not…" Zini's lip quivered as he tried to absorb the harsh truth. "Flia's a big girl right?"

"But...she'll come out of the water," Charon nervously chuckled. "She's probably pulling a joke on us. Right? I'm sure of it!"

The eldest child _Iguanodon_ turned to the borderline optimistic _Parasaurolophus_ with enough anger to match that of an angry rhino. "How can she come out of that!? That monster practically swallowed her whole! She's not coming back!"

"We can't say for sure!" Charon argued, butting her head against Talin's.

"Oh yeah?" the youngling leader pushed her back with his crest-less head. "Prove it!"

"I'll kill him…" Hazel said in a low voice.

The first to reply to her was Aladar. Stepping towards her, he lowered his head, wanting to comfort her in his own way.

"Hazel?" he asked her about what she was talking about.

"I'll kill the monster who did this!" the girl lifted her head and looked at the herd leader.

Aladar staggered back. Fury now etched on the human's face. He could not explain it, but he could have sworn there was fire in her eyes.

"Hazel, I know how you feel. But you can't just go off attacking something we don't know about. It's too reckless!" he tried to reason with her.

"I don't care! I'll kill that son of a bitch for killing our friend! I'll make him pay for this!" she then yelled out towards the ocean at her very loudest.

"HEY SCUMBAG! I KNOW YOU'RE OUT THERE! YOU'VE GOT SOME NERVE MESSING WITH MY FRIENDS! WELL NOW YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO MESS WITH ME! SO COME ON OUT HERE SO I CAN WEAVE A TAPESTRY OUT OF YOUR GUTS!"

"HAZEL-!"

Unfortunately for the _Iguanodon_ , his chance to get the human to listen to reason was interrupted by a rising wave. Everyone gasped at the incoming disturbance. Even Hazel was broken out of her rage by the approaching hump of water.

The object seemed to have blended into one of the waves, but then overtake it. Any skeptic in modern times would have discounted something like this as an incoming whale. An orca would have been the best guess. However, this was no orca because orcas do not glow white underwater. And they did not have glowing red eyes either.

Said monster shot out from the waves and landed onto the shore with a deafening thud. The crash caused those present on the beach to nearly lose their footing, or in the children's and Zini's case, totally collapse onto the sand.

It was at that moment that everyone got a good look at Flia's killer. The creature was at least forty feet long, with a hide that was as bright as the moon and eyes as red as blood. Its four paddle-like flippers rested on the sand, but it seemed that one fell swoop of them could knock something off its feet. However, the most striking feature would have to be its oversized jaw. Its mouth was at least a third of its body with teeth that looked like they could create holes in ship hulls.

"P-P-P-P- _Pliosaurus_?" Hazel deduced the type of creature that appeared. In all honesty, this creature could have been anything in the pliosaurid family tree. It could by _Liopleurodon_ , _Stretosaurus_ , or even Predator X! Whatever the case, this creature had somehow survived destruction for millions of years...and was now coming for them.

"No...it's Phorcys!" Charon screamed at the top of her lungs.

"It's the White Terror! He's real!" Tirech seconded.

"Run!" Alden quickly suggested then turned tail.

No one argued against that. The creature let out another menacing roar that sounded like a bomb going off. The group that was on the shore bolted from the area screaming. Even Aladar, who could have stayed to fight off the beast, was too concerned for the safety of his friends and family and followed close to them.


	4. Diamonds and Blood

_**Soundtrack: Crystal Woods by Derek and Brandon Fiechter/Ticking by Fesliyan Studios**_

It had been at least several minutes before everyone stopped to catch their breath. The monster appearing unexpectedly had brought them all at least a mile away from the beach. They may have left all their supplies behind, but at least that was better than being in a sea monster's stomach.

The clustering of the trees along with the creeping darkness brought a sense of anxiety among the troupe. The myriad of insects vocalizing in the night made things all the more creepier. It was like being in a scary movie except the monster is a long-dead creature from the Mesozoic era.

Straightening herself up, Hazel looked over to her companions; her face riddled with a mix of fear and frustration. "Okay, what the hell was that!? This is the frigging 21st century! A creature like that should be long dead! Except we just got chased by one!"

"I don't know Hazel!" Aladar replied, now recovered from his exhaustion. "I'm not sure what we saw!"

"I'll tell you what we saw!" Charon breathed and eyed the group with concern. "That was Phorcys! He's real!"

"Phorcys is just a legend," the adult _Iguanodon_ reasoned, though in his mind, his beliefs on a logical answer was being counteracted by what he witnessed. "There has to be a logical explanation for what we saw. Maybe there is a creature in this time that looks exactly like that?"

"Aladar, there is nothing in this time period that looks like that. It's certainly not a whale nor is it a crocodile or a shark. Plus, there's nothing that big on this planet that glows at night!" Hazel yelled out while relieving all of her frustration.

"Then what-?"

"HEY! WILL YOU GUYS KNOCK IT OFF!" cried a voice that stood in the middle of them.

The dinosaur and human looked down to see a furious yellow lemur. Both of them did not know that Zini was trying to attract their attention the entire time. While he was trying to hide his emotional distress, he was more pissed off at the moment.

"Now, I'm not sure if any of you know about this, but I think what we saw wasn't real at all. If anyone asks me," he then pointed at Hazel and Aladar. "I think we're in the middle of some kind of setup."

"Setup?" the human glared at him. "Wha- you think this is some kind of game? A prank? Flia just got eaten for God's sake! Do you really think any of us are that low!?"

"Yeah, but you're just probably making us think that way. I think you both just came up with this whole spiel just to scare everybody just to make this night more interesting. I don't think Flia's dead. You guys are playing it up. And I'm not falling for any of it."

Aladar shook his head. "Zini, we're not making this up. One of our friends is dead and we're lost in the middle of nowhere. Plus, you heard Hazel; that thing shouldn't even exist at all."

"Exactly!" the primate chuckled. "So cut the act and give everyone else a break. Besides, you're making the kids cry."

And Zini was right. The children were crying. Talin and Charon may be holding back tear and Tirech was doing his best to look tough, but it was Alden who was the most vocal. His body was quivering uncontrollably. Hot stinging water streaked down his cheeks like streams.

"Daddy, I want to go home…" the youngest sniffled.

"Come on, please tell me Flia's okay…" Talin choked back a sob. "She's...not dead right?"

Aladar and Hazel looked over at each other with sympathy. Both of them were feeling the same way, but they needed to stay strong for the young ones. It was too dark to see anything and that monster clearly outclassed them in all aspects. Taking him on in a frontal attack was not a good idea since the area they were in was next to a river and near a beach. The only hope they had to survive would be to head back to the park and regroup.

"Kids, everything is going to be fine. But right now, we need to get to safety," the cerulean _Iguanodon_ reassured them.

"Wait, we're just going to leave Flia behind!?" the _Pachyrhinosaurus_ argued. "We're going to leave!? Just like that!?"

"Flia's not dead. She's a big girl. But right now, we need to get back to the valley so we can get some help."

"No! We're not leaving until we're all here!" Talin backed up his friend, now standing next to him. "We're saving Flia!"

"Oh for crying out loud!" Zini complained again then looked over at the adults. "Flia's not dead because you guys are playing this up! You may have fooled the kids but you haven't fooled me! Just admit that this is all a practical joke so you could get back at me for pulling all those other pranks!"

"Zini for the last time!" Hazel stormed up to him. She was doing her best to resist the urge to grab him by the neck. "WE ARE NOT MAKING THIS UP!"

Suddenly, two of the children were yanked away from them. Their screams echoed throughout the forest like a couple of banshees. When they looked over, they were horrified to see Alden and Charon getting pulled back by their tails by shimmering jaws into the treeline. Even from that part of the forest, the hide of Phorcys shone like diamonds.

"Charon! Alden!" Hazel ran after them. She managed to grab onto one of their hooves before they were totally pulled into the darkness of the trees.

She also felt the lower part of her shirt and shorts get tugged back. If she could look back, she could see that it was Tirech and Talin who were trying to contribute in the effort.

"Hang on! We got you!" the alpha's eldest son muffled through the fabric.

While Hazel, Tirech, and Talin were busy trying to reel their friends back in without accidentally pulling them apart, they noticed off at their left something large rush past them. One single glance revealed a rush of blue-green scales that had darkened patches along with a quadruped gait. No doubt it was Aladar who was coming in at their attacker.

Zini remained high up in one of the tree branches to escape the danger. If he had been paying any attention, he would have seen that Phorcys was not utilizing his full strength to yank the children away. However, he was too consumed with the fear of getting eaten to logically think about the situation.

The adult _Iguanodon_ bellowed and charged at the large maw. Using his strength, he attempt to knock the sea monster away. But to no avail. He shoved again, but the creature did not move. It was like he was an unstoppable force against an immovable object.

And it was like that for the next minute or so. The kids hung on to their friends while Aladar attempted to stop the monster. But they were at a loss as Phorcys was too strong for them.

"Don't let go!" Charon tearfully told her saviors.

"I'm trying!" Hazel strained from all the weight she was pulling. "But my hands are all sweaty!"

Her efforts were all for naught. With a single tug, Phorcys wrenched the younglings from the girl's grasp. Their shapes disappeared into the darkness of the forest. Hazel lurched forward and landed on her stomach onto the debris-covered terrain from the immense pull. Charon and Alden's screams lasted for a few seconds before going silent.

Hazel lifted her head, watching the darkness. She scanned the vegetation for any sign of the children. Only...she found none.

Aladar paced around before them, muttering "no" over and over again. If he stopped for a minute, everyone could see his distraught expression.

"GOD DAMNIT NO!" the woman cursed at the top of her lungs.

"I couldn't save them...I couldn't…" she kept sobbing those words. "I'm so sorry…"

Tirech and Talin nuzzled to her, offering her comfort in this horrible hour. They too were upset, and it did not take very long for them to start crying too. In fact, they were at a loss for words.

Movement of branches and falling leaves from their left revealed the presence of Zini coming down towards them. Unlike before, he now bore an expression of sorrow. And unlike the others, he was able to speak clearly.

"Oh man...since when did we become some predator's dinner!? First Flia, and now Charon and Alden!? I want to let you guys know that this isn't one of my pranks so I've got no hand in this. I wouldn't make something that would kill anyone."

"That thing is picking us off...one by one," Talin uttered, looking back into the darkness and then at his father, who was just standing at their right.

"Um...Phorcys is a monster from the big water right?" Tirech inquired after sniffling. "So...how did he get here when we're away from that?"

"I think...that monster is not of this plane of existence…" Hazel breathed out with a shudder. "It's been millions of years. No pliosaur or plesiosaur or any marine reptile from the ancient past is living in our oceans today."

"What do you mean?" Zini questioned the human. The girl let out a few more breaths then stared at the lemur. Her tired, red eyes made him feel empathetic.

"That thing may be some kind of spirit, or ghost. It's an entity that was long dead and can manifest itself into a complete shape in the living world. Because Phorcys may be some kind of ghost, he can move freely across any terrain; water or land. In other words, we're not safe anywhere."

Both kids and Zini gasped quietly. The look they were giving Hazel was that of pure apprehension. Although they did not fully understand her definition of what a ghost was, they did get the part where ghosts were the dead coming back to hunt them. Since Phorcys was in that state, there was nothing that was stopping him from getting his prey, including the terrain.

The girl was about to talk more on the subject, but fell silent when the voice of the male alpha before her beat her to it.

"Hazel?" Aladar called her.

Said woman looked over at him, her eyes squinting with inquiry. "Yeah?"

"You say a ghost is something from the dead right? How can they be stopped?" He asked her, glancing back while keeping an eye at the darkness ahead.

Hazel shook her head regretfully. "Very few things can stop a ghost. The usual methods are hard to explain, but normally, the best way to stop a haunting would be to satisfy the spirit. Whatever is keeping them in the physical plane is what is preventing them from moving on. But to satisfy a ghost is a very difficult thing to do because there may be factors that-"

"Hazel, I want you to take everyone and get back to the valley," the _Iguanodon_ interrupted her on that last sentence.

The girl did a double take at him, turning her gaze from her companions around her then back at him. "Wait, what?"

"You heard me. Get everyone back safely. Phorcys is not going to stop until he's satisfied."

It was at that moment that Hazel understood what he meant. Her breaths became shallow as the thought of his plan dug into her mind. She knew what he wanted. It was something that she abhorred.

He was going to distract the monster while she and the others escaped.

"No you can't! There has to be another way!" she argued.

"Hazel...there isn't. I'll keep Phorcys busy while the rest of you make a run for it," the dinosaur told her, going into a battle stance.

"Forget it! We're not leaving you behind!"

Just then, a roar echoed from within the forest. The direction it came from was the same as where Alden and Charon were dragged into. It was also the same location where Phorcys appeared for his ambush. The light from above was dying due to the moon being covered by clouds. Those who had limited vision in darkness had to squint just to see...and that followed with the ever-growing fear of another ambush.

"He's coming…" Tirech shuddered in a near whisper.

"All of you, get out of here!" Aladar commanded again, this time more forcefully.

"But-!" Talin was about to object when his father cut him off.

"I'll find you once I drive him out. Just get going!"

The children nodded their heads, hanging on to the hope that the alpha would keep his word. However, the same could not be said for Hazel and Zini. Due to the circumstances they were in, they knew he was lying. Unless he could survive by some sliver of hope…

The human shook her head. Now was not the time to think of their funerals. They had to escape and get help.

"Come on kids!" she ordered them and bolted in the other direction away from the grove.

Without saying a word, the rest of the group followed after the girl, soon overtaking her in speed. The darkness of the forest and the vegetation nearly blinding their way of sight, they had to rely on either basic shapes or the feel of the ground to keep moving.

Even with their thoughts of escape, none of them could stop thinking about the last words Aladar said before it was followed by a primeval roar.

"Keep running! Don't look back!" was what they heard before all became silent.

Their sliver of hope became a thin line in the darkness with the loss of their only source of protection.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The sound of a camera clicking broke the silence. All was dark in a little hovel a few hundred feet away from the Save River. The sounds of the native wildlife, including vocalizing insects, filled the night. Even in the late hour, the heat was irritating. Mosquitoes flitted about, buzzing by and pricking skins in their hunt for food.

It had been at least an hour and a half since their escape from the forest grove; and at least a bit more since they fled the beach. They planned to arrive back at Prehistoric Park in the morning, but they had a long journey ahead if they were to avoid the jaws of death from a certain undead marine reptile.

They had already decided that being near deep water was out of the question, and so was being out in the open. The best way to avoid detection would be to travel in the more clustered areas so that Phorcys would have a hard time getting to them. However, it would be at the cost of walking speed. Without anyone to fly back or run quickly back to the valley, it was the only chance the group had for survival.

Hazel stared at the brightened mirror of her phone, which reflected her own image in an illuminated green and black hue. She had just set her camera to night vision, so that anyone viewing it would be able to see her in the dark. She also made sure to not show the images of the two sleeping children next to her and the lemur who slept near her feet.

She and her group were lying in a ditch not far from the Save River. From her memory, she recalled that this part of the waterway should be shallow, meaning that it would not be ideal for a huge sea monster to get to them. At least, that's what she thought according to its appearance. The barrier of dirt and vegetation around them also provided some decent protection from any attack around them. The trees that stood guard at the top of each slope seemed like sentinels rather than vegetation.

"August 14, and the time is 12:50 AM. For anyone who finds this, my name is Hazel Veran. If you find this phone, there's a high chance that my friends and I are dead. My life story is pretty complicated so I'll just skip straight to the point."

She took in a breath and recanted everything that happened today. "My friends and I were off to the coast to have a fun beach day when we were suddenly attacked by a huge monster. I may be a paleontologist in training, but what I'm about to tell you may sound impossible, but it is. Our attacker was huge, more than forty feet in length, with jaws that are about a third of its body and skin as bright as diamonds. The thing's teeth were about the size of kitchen knives from what I remember. I don't know...they were huge. The flippers on that thing were bigger than an average-sized car, and probably strong enough to overturn a boat. I'm still trying to discern the identity of the creature, but from what I can tell, it's some kind of a _Pliosaurus_. You may think that's funny, but to myself and my friends here, it's not. Already, four of my friends lost their lives to this thing. The rest of us are trying to get back home where we can get help."

"If you are watching this," Hazel continued, her eyes now teary. "Then heed my warning. Stay away from here. Don't go near any bodies of water. This place is this thing's playground. If you accidentally wandered into this area, go the other way. This thing is not going to stop until it's fully satisfied. I'm warning you, disregarding this warning will be your funeral."

With that said, Hazel pressed the stop button on her camera application, thus stopping the recording sequence. Once she exited the application, she checked the top right corner of her screen, which had her battery status. The bar was down to 18%.

The woman wanted to smack herself. Taking videos and photos of their time at the beach had cost her phone a lot of battery. That and she neglected to fully charge it the night before they departed for the coast. Not only that, but she even called Nigel, Bob, Suzanne, and even Marcus some time ago. All were met by a voicemail. She should have known better. No one would be answering at this late hour.

So she did what she could to get help...or at least leave a warning.

Looking at the time at the top right again, she saw it to be 1:07 AM. The plan was to stay in this spot at least until around 1:00. Then they had to keep moving. The problem was...the kids were really exhausted. The amount of trauma they went through had tired them out. Waking them up now in their state would not make their pace any better.

"But we need to keep going," she whispered.

Hazel swallowed and wiped her lips. Her throat felt airy and her mouth was dry. All that time worrying about their survival had taken her away from her own bodily needs.

Unfortunately, her bag was back at the beach, back to where Phorcys first found them...and where they left Flia behind.

A stir broke the silence. Using her phone, the girl swiped her screen a few times before finding the flashlight option. Because her flashlight was in her bag, she needed to rely on her alternative source of light. A light illuminated from the backside of her phone, similar to how iPhones worked. Hazel then turned her head towards the right to see Tirech shaking himself from his sleep. She was careful as to not point it directly at him so as to not startle the young dinosaur. A near-quiet yawn indicated his broken slumber.

"You okay Tirech?" Hazel asked the youngling.

"I'm thirsty…" was all she heard. "I want to go to the river that's nearby."

"Okay," the Asian sighed. "But someone should go with you."

"I'll go."

The _Pachyrhinosaurus_ and human turned to the direction of that voice. Getting himself onto his feet was young Talin, who was also shaking the remnants of his slumber away from him. His action had also awoken Zini, who yawned and flexed his limbs before rubbing his eyes clean.

"I'll keep an eye on him. Besides, I need a drink too."

"Well, you know what?" Hazel added. "I think I'll go too. I left my stuff at the beach, and we have to get moving before sunrise. But if we're going for a drink now, we might as well keep moving."

After putting her phone away, she got up and flexed her arms. Holding her fingers in a locked stature and then flexing them out front cracked them a bit. Her eyes took a while to adjust to the darkness, but she planned on bringing her phone back out, at least in the minimal brightness setting so that they wouldn't attract too much attention.

"Wha- so we're moving now? Why not just stay here and wait for morning?" Zini inquired, albeit with a hint of worry in his tone.

"Because we need to go back and get help. Plus if we stick around, Phorcys will find us anyway."

"But if we go out, we'll be out in the open! He'll just gobble us up one by one!" the lemur tried to reason with his remaining friends. He may be a fool most of the time, but he knew he was making sense. Whatever they did from this moment forth, Phorcys would just find them anyway. So the best chance at survival would be to wait until sun-up. Unfortunately, once he looked over at the exit of the ditch they were staying in, he noticed his friends, led by Hazel who had her flashlight phone on. Though the dinosaurs did not need it at all due to their better eyesight.

"Oh so you guys are just going to walk out and offer yourselves up for dinner!? You'll just make yourselves more vulnerable!" he hopped furiously.

"We already are!" Hazel glanced back to give him a stern look. "Now come on, let's keep moving."

Zini groaned and hopped after them. Sure he wanted to stay in the ditch where it was safer, but he didn't want to leave his friends alone. Besides, if they were going to die tonight, he didn't want to die alone.


	5. A Play on Death

_**Soundtrack: Terror Chase/Nocturnus by Adrian Von Ziegler/Moving On by Roy Todd**_

Getting to the river did not take very long at all. At most, it took several minutes to get there. The problems were moving quietly and getting around any obstacles like vegetation and rocks. They also had to keep in mind of the possibility of Phorcys being in the area. But once they got to the river, they knew they had to move quickly.

Thankfully, the river was deserted. Even at night, there were no animals or humans around. The only sounds in the area besides the native wildlife was water moving along the current to the sea. The mud and sand in the area stuck to their feet, which was a mild inconvenience for them. The river was even in a slight depression, meaning that getting to the water would mean climbing down a mud-filled slope.

That didn't seem to bother the younglings and the lemur though. Getting to the water for a drink was of utmost importance. All they had to do was carefully climb down one slope in order to reach the bank below. It was a bit slippery, but they managed to do it. Both Talin and Tirech stood side by side and lowered their heads to take in the liquid. Zini was the only one who was the furthest from them, towards Hazel's left.

Hazel was the only one to remain behind, as she would rather drink water from a cleaner stream than from a river that was filled with silt and mud. After all, human stomachs weren't as strong as other animals. She remembered that time last year when she traveled with the herd to the Nesting Grounds when they were at the lake. Drinking water that had silt and mud posed some health risks, but being in a desert for so long meant you had to do whatever you could to survive. It was a miracle she didn't suffer any stomach problems when she came back to the present.

"Ah," Talin gasped after swallowing a huge gulp of the lukewarm liquid. "That's better."

He then took notice of the lone human at the top of the bank. The _Iguanodon_ watched her squat down to stare at the water.

"Hazel, aren't you going to get some?" he inquired.

Hazel nodded but did not glance at the youngling. "I am, I just don't want to drink from here."

"Why not?" Talin cocked his head to the left.

"Well, I just don't want to. I'd rather get water from somewhere else."

"But...water is water. It shouldn't make much of a difference where you get it."

Hazel swallowed to ease her parched throat. Of course she saw this coming. Talin did have a point on water being the same everywhere else. But it was different for humans. Drinking dirty water would have bacteria and substances that may make her sick. Then again, she had to take those risks whenever she went to the distant past. If she had a pot and a fire pit, then she could grab some water for herself. But now, she didn't have the supplies she needed.

"Look, don't worry about me. Just get your fill and we'll get going," was all she told them.

"Okay, whatever you say," Talin replied.

As soon as they were done drinking, the prehistoric denizens ambled their way up the muddy bank, with the exception of Zini who was able to use some loose roots as leverage. Once they were on dry land, they started off towards the direction of the valley. The mud now sticking to their feet clung onto them like loose cement, thus slowing them down a bit.

"We need to pick up the pace," Hazel informed them in the tone that matched a herd alpha. "The sooner we get back to Prehistoric Park, the faster we can get to safety."

And picked up the pace they did. The children did not waste any time reaching the forest edge. Being out in the open had its share of risks after all. The feeling of security fell over them like a dark blanket. The clustered trees and darkness in the forest offered ample protection against a creature that could glow at night and mysteriously travel on land.

At least...that's what they thought. What happened next went by too fast.

 ***ROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAR***

A huge shape burst out from the the shadows. Anyone who saw it would think of it as two trees coming down from its roots. Except trees didn't glow and didn't move on their own. Nor did it have glowing white skin, red eyes, and sharp serrated teeth. The human did not need to point her flashlight at the monster, because she could clearly see its full form.

Talin and Tirech had no time to scream. The creature's maw came down upon them, and carried them off with one gulp. Within a split second, there was no sign of the _Iguanodon_ or the _Pachyrhinosaurus_ anywhere.

"Oh my GOD!" Hazel screamed. She was too horrified to comprehend what she had just seen. Two younglings, barely even two years old, just got eaten by an undead marine reptile that could somehow walk on land.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me!" Zini screamed as well. He wanted to stay and fight off Phorcys to save the kids, but he knew full well that they were already goners. The lemur bolted in the other direction, intent on getting into the forest through another route.

Hazel had seen too many supernatural documentaries in the past. She knew full well that the only way to take out a ghost would be through an exorcism, or through some other means to help it pass on. Except this was a prehistoric creature that cared nothing about sentimentality. This was a pliosaurid that only cared about satisfying its huge appetite. This Phorcys was no ghost at all. It was a monster.

Hazel did not have her dagger with her. It would be useless anyway. So she did the only thing logical in this situation. She turned tail and ran after Zini.

"Shit shit shit shit shit shit SHIT!" the human cursed as she sprinted into the safety of the vegetation away from the creature.

Hopping over forest debris, climbing over dead trees, and dodging rocks, the remaining members of the party traversed the tropical woods; not even stopping when their lungs began to hurt. The underbrush that contained some sharp leaves scratched at their skin as they ran, creating minor injuries. The wind whipping past them was more of a hinderance than a blessing from the night heat. They had to occasionally scratch their limbs to ease some itches.

What was definitely not in their favor was that the human and lemur duo were retreating in the opposite direction back to the beach rather than the valley. The smarter idea would have been to run past Phorcys, but fear overtook their minds at that moment.

Another thing was Hazel's phone. The flashlight had been on the entire time since they left the ditch to get a drink. Because the girl had left it on, the phone decided to die out. Thus the adventurer lost her only way to see in the dark.

"Crapberries!" Hazel cursed while stuffing her now dead phone into her pocket. "Why'd it have to die now!?"

Things got even worse when the girl's left leg met something hard. The girl let out a pained breath as she fell on her stomach. Her ankle burned like needles as it scraped against the hard object. Thankfully, she only landed on some dirt and dead leaves rather than the pile of sharp rocks nearby.

Hazel quickly turned to inspect the damage, but when she did, a jolt of agony shot up her body. Looking behind her, she saw that she had tripped on a fallen palm tree, and the loose bark had pierced a portion of her skin. Bits of blood streamed down from her ankle.

"Shit!" she screamed, trying to move her leg.

Her outburst attracted the attention of Zini, who had been a few feet ahead of her. Turning around, the ancient primate gasped when he caught sight of the fallen human. He hurried over and grabbed her hand with his own paws.

"Hazel get up!" the mammal pulled on her limb.

"I can't! My leg hurts! I can't move!" she strained from her injury.

"We can't stop now! Phorcys is right behind us!"

"Zini! Forget about me! I'll only slow you down! Just go back to Prehistoric Park!" Hazel urged him.

The lemur shook his head furiously. "No way! I'm not leaving you behind!"

Suddenly, out of the darkness, the glowing shape of Phorcys stormed towards them. He may be a few hundred feet away, but they could clearly see how he was able to chase them on unknown terrain. Much like most marine reptiles, he was using his massive flippers like wings to propel himself forward; the front limbs moved downward while the rear were up and then switching positions. Except marine reptiles could not do that on land, nor could they float above ground.

"AH!" Zini screamed.

Hazel used what strength she had to turn herself over. Using her hands and free leg, she partially crawled away from the monster, but it was a futile attempt. Her injured leg hindered her movements.

The lemur grabbed onto the human by her shirt, his back against her chest.

"Hazel, if you don't get moving now, we're going to be dinner!" Zini shrieked, his teeth chattering like crazy. The blood red rage from the pliosaurid pierced the soul of the lemur, preventing him from tearing his gaze away.

"I can't! Not with my injured leg!"

"I don't want to die! I'm too handsome! I haven't even taken Aya out for a stroll at the waterfall! I never got the chance to be a dad! I never got to be old and cranky like Yar!" he grabbed onto her shirt in a tighter grip.

Phorcys stormed closer. His flippers flapping faster than before. His maw now open to show his arsenal of flesh-tearing teeth. His hide now glowing brighter than the moon.

"Hazel, I just want you to know, if by some miracle we get out of this, I promise I won't prank anyone again," Zini apologized while trying to not allow his voice to break.

"You'd...really do that?" Hazel quivered. She quickly moved her arms onto the primate and hugged him tightly.

"Yeah. And I'm sorry for pranking everybody, and I'm really sorry for dumping all those bugs on you back at home and at the beach. Now that we're about to die, I'm going to regret that I've never got the chance to apologize to everyone. It's been nice knowing you Hazel…" he shut his eyes and awaited for the feel of gigantic teeth and muscle to crush his little body.

The monster was now upon them. His massive jaws now open, blocking out the sky. Phorcys let out a primeval roar that made the earth tremble. Zini screamed as he awaited his death.

"PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!" he begged the undead creature.

What came next stunned him completely. He felt the human's chest quickly go up and down. The breaths from her body rapidly escaped as she made a sound that was not unheard of, but definitely unexpected in this situation. Turning around, he saw Hazel's eyes shut tight, but instead of screaming, he saw her mouth in a smile as she showed off her pearly whites. The sounds she was making were not of someone in distress. They were of someone who seemed to be enjoying themselves.

She was laughing.

"Finally! I was waiting for you to say that all night!"

When she said that, Phorcys lowered himself to be at their eye level. The red eyes that glowed in the darkness dimmed out for some reason. The creature's great maw slowly opened. The teeth that he sported glittered in the darkness, making the lemur quiver uncontrollably.

While Zini expected to see the inside of the monster's jaws, he was surprised to see a ten foot tall creature strapped to some odd metal sticks and a human on its back. When he got a closer look, he saw that the creature sported black and yellow feathers and a beak thick enough to crush a skull. On its back was a human slightly taller than that of Hazel, but had shorter hair that was the same color of the human he first met a year ago.

He wore black and dark navy clothing that made him blend into the nighttime settings. On his back was an odd backpack that held a car battery with a multitude of wiring attached to his feathered mount's strange harness.

"HAHAHAHA! We got you Shirley!" the hyper-carnivore within giggled.

"And we got it all on camera!" Marcus seconded. He pressed something on his watch, which caused one of the lights at the front of the Phorcys dummy to turn off.

Now that he knew that he wasn't going to die, Zini managed to get a good look at his "attacker". The sparkling hide of Phorcys turned out to be a tarp covering a metal structure that made up the form of the marine reptile. What made the hide glow at night turned out to be a bunch of lights that could be controlled via the inside panel Marcus could access next to him. The jaws of the monster could also be controlled there through some clamps the human could utilize in front of him. As for how Phorcys moved, Espantos handled all of that as the strangely lightweight structure was no problem to him when he ran.

"Wait hold on!? What's going on here!?" the lemur demanded, his face now fuming.

"Don't you get it Zini?" Hazel giggled. "We just pranked you."

"Oh speaking of which," she added and stared off ahead of her. She peered into the darkness of the forest and started waving her hands above her head for a minute. "Okay guys! He's had enough! You can come out now!"

Out of the shadows came the individuals that Zini had thought perished during the night. The first to come forward was Aladar, who was free of any injuries. Following him were Flia, Talin, Alden, Tirech, and Charon, who kept up with the alpha's pace.

"Wait, you're alive!?" the lemur gasped as he watched the larger prehistoric creatures stop before him.

"Yup. You'd really think we'd let ourselves get eaten?" Aladar chuckled.

Talin giggled as well while the other kids snickered. "Man you should have seen your face! It was hilarious! 'I don't want to die! I'm too handsome!'"

Tirech cackled at that imitation of the victim lemur. "Don't forget the part when he mentioned he never got to be old and cranky like Yar."

"What the heck is going on here!? You think this is funny!?" the primate demanded once again. "I mean, what's the big idea!? Pranking me when I was about to die!?"

"Zini, we didn't mean to be mean towards you. Our intentions were good," Flia tried to explain. Her beak then creased into a smile when she thought about how humorous the adventure was. "Though it was kind of fun though."

"You see Zini," Hazel continued where her companion left off. The lemur turned around to face the now relaxed human. "You've been pranking us for the past several days. While they were harmless at first, doing them in succession was getting pretty annoying. And most of us didn't really find them funny, especially when the pranks were on us."

"At first, we tried to shrug them off," she added on to her explanation. "But when we noticed the consequences of your pranks, specifically what you did to poor Espantos here, and Yar and Plio's lecture would not work, we decided to hatch a plan. Aladar here told us about the story of Phorcys AKA your version of the Boogeyman a few days before, so Marcus and I decided to use it to our advantage. That and everyone here wanted in on the whole idea."

"In other words," Aladar went next, lowering his head to Zini's eye level. "We did this to teach you a lesson."

"A lesson? Me?" Zini placed a hand on his chest. One of his eyes squinted, making his face contort into one of confusion.

"Yeah Zini. How did you feel when this whole "Phorcys" problem started?" Marcus chimed in. He was unstrapping Espantos during the time when Hazel was explaining the whole plan to prank the poor lemur. Once the last strap was off, the Terror Bird bolted out of the makeshift costume, making the Phorcys disguise roll over.

The ancient primate put his right index finger and thumb on his chin. He thought for a moment on his reactions before responding in a blatant manner. "Let's see, I was annoyed, frustrated, pissed off, confused, and not to mention scared out of my mind most of the time."

"And that's exactly how we were feeling whenever you pranked any one of us," Hazel told him.

"But they weren't supposed to be insulting or anything," Zini defended with his hands outstretched in front of him. "It was just harmless fun!"

"Yes but what those who didn't think they were fun at all?" the human added after crossing her arms.

"Oh…" the lemur's expression deflated. "I didn't really think about that."

"Look Zini," Aladar shot him a reassuring smile. "Pranks are okay every once in awhile. But there's a point when pranking too much can be overbearing. So much so that everyone's going to be turned against you."

"Yeah, I see what you're getting at," the yellow-furred mammal sighed. "I'm sorry everybody. I wasn't really too considerate of how others felt."

"Well we hope you learned your lesson," Hazel chimed in.

Zini nodded in a sincere manner. "Yeah...I did."

"Good," the human replied in satisfaction. "Now can someone get me a first aid kit? My leg frigging hurts here."

"Whoops! Sorry! One sec," the engineer nervously chuckled. He then cupped his hands together and called out to the one creature that was apparently not in the area. "ESPANTOS! WE NEED YOU HERE!"

As if on cue, the Terror Bird zipped past the bystanding ornithopods to stand next to the person who called him. A huge smile creased across his beak and his eyes beamed with excitement. "Yes? You called?"

"Our buddy Hazel needs that red box you're carrying," he told her.

The Miocene denizen gasped. "Hazel-nut is hurt!? WHERE!?"

"Don't worry Espantos. It's just a scrape. I just need some bandages," Hazel reassured the hyperactive carnivore.

Espantos blankly stared at her. The movement of his head upwards to the left indicated his confusion. Honestly, there were times when Hazel wished Espantos didn't have the mindset of a child.

"You know? Bandages. The white rolls that look like big wads of tape?" the girl clarified in a way a three year old could understand.

"Oh! Those things!" the Terror Bird blurted out in understanding. Immediately, he bent his head down to his left and reached for a hidden pack that was strapped around him. It was a good thing Marcus strapped a belt with that pack onto the _Phorusrhacos_. He had the premonition that someone may get hurt during this prank.

Using his primeval strength, the Terror Bird yanked the box off of him and threw it to Hazel, which she caught easily.

"Thanks!" she greeted him.

"Don't mention it," he replied back.

"Hey wait a sec," Zini piped up again. Everyone tore their attention away from Hazel fixing up her leg and onto the curious lemur. "Something's bothering me."

"What is it?" Charon spoke up after being quiet nearly the whole time.

"I don't know what kind of things humans have for water, and I know you guys have your ways of swimming, but Espantos isn't much of a swimmer," the primate pointed out when he looked at everybody. "So that begs the question...how did you pull off that scare back at the beach?"

Coincidentally, some thumping sounds along with heavy breathing occurred just behind them. When everyone turned around, they were surprised to see an exhausted forty foot long prehistoric crocodile crawl his way towards them. Like the Phorcys disguise Espantos and Marcus used, this one had a glittering white tarp draped over him, coupled with waterproof lights and red lenses attached on the eyes of the costume. A portion of the costume was made for the player's jaws, where the upper and lower jaw had their own pockets to get into.

The darkened scaly skin and clawed foot that came out of the costume's right flipper along with the lumbering gait gave away the identity of Prehistoric Park's resident _Deinosuchus_.

"There you are! Blimey! It took me forever to find you lot!" the reptile gasped from all that effort of walking on land.

"Hey Irwin!" everyone greeted.

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you all!? You were supposed to come back for me at the beach ages ago!" he ranted.

"Sorry Irwin! We were going to come back but the whole thing took longer than expected," the engineer apologized on behalf of everyone on the plan.

"Wait," Zini pointed at the crocodile.

"Irwin was the one that scared us at the beach!?" His mouth fell open in shock. "Didn't he hurt Flia!? I thought he really ate you!"

He then gazed at the pterosaur who was apparently uninjured.

"Nope, he didn't hurt me at all," the _Pteranodon_ shrugged her shoulders.

"Mate, I may have huge scary jaws, but I can be gentle too," Irwin explained to him. "Now can someone get this thing off of me?"

"Yeah yeah," Marcus told him and went over to the tired _Deinosuchus_. "I'm on it. Man, I don't know about you guys, but this has been a really long night. I could go for a day at the beach."

"Well, the beach isn't that far away and dawn's coming pretty soon," Aladar remarked, looking up at the dark sky that was gradually getting brighter. "I think we can go for one more day at the beach before we head back."

"Yeah totally!" Talin cheered.

"Okay…" Alden seconded after letting out a yawn. "I never got to go for a swim. But I'd like to take a nap on some soft sand before I do."

"Whoo! Beach time!" Tirech jumped for joy.

"Oh alright," Charon went next, shrugging her shoulders. "I guess one more day wouldn't hurt."

"Great! Let's hit the road then," Hazel heaved herself up from the ground after wrapping her ankle with bandages.

Once she said that, they all started heading back towards the coast. Due to Hazel's injury, Aladar allowed her to ride on his back. The only one who were the last to go were Marcus and Irwin, who were hauling the costumes back towards the beach. Dawn came in a little less than two hours. The horrifying night was left behind, and a new day was beginning, especially for a young lemur who learned an important lesson.

 _Darksage: Well…that was fun!_

 _Marc: Meh, It was okay._

 _Darksage: Are you kidding me!? You were quivering in your boots! You were totally scared._

 _Marc: Was not! It was just cold in here was all._

 _Darksage: Sure…anyway, we hope you guys enjoyed this DaPPA short. As we mentioned before, the Christmas Special will be up and running very soon._

 _Marc: Oh and by the way, in this story, we imagined Phorcys as the infamous Pliosaurus funkei AKA Predator X. Just wanted to throw that out._

 _Darksage: Also, two songs, Ghosts of Winter and Melody of Twilight, both by Derek and Brandon Fiechter (I love those guys…), were not used in this story. However, they are supposed to represent the intro and ending sequences respectively. But other than that, we hope you guys had fun and we'll see you on the next issue!_

 _Marc: Peace out!_


	6. Night of the White Terror Soundtrack

Ghosts of Winter by Derek and Brandon Fiechter (Introduction)  
Sweet Revenge by Thomas VanOosting (Zini's pranks)  
Beach Party by Derek and Brandon Fiechter (Arrival at the beach)  
Sneaky Sly (Underground Weasels) by Thomas VanOosting (Zini's Beach pranks 1)  
Tropical Island by Derek and Brandon Fiechter (Lunch at the beach)  
Salty Possum by Thomas VanOosting (Zini's Beach pranks 2)  
Lonesome Campfires by Graham Preskett (Dinner around the campfire)  
Suite for Glass Armonica by Thomas VanOosting (Around the campfire 1: Aladar's story)  
Come Out and Play Creepy Music Box (Around the campfire 2: Legend of the White Terror)  
Horror Chase by Stoyan Ganev (Flia attacked)  
Crystal Woods by Derek and Brandon Fiechter (In the Forest Grove)  
Ticking by Fesliyan Studios (Forest Ambush)  
Terror Chase (Escape from Phorcys/river ambush)  
Nocturnus by Adrian von Ziegler (The Dead End/Phorcys coming in)  
Moving On by Roy Todd (The Reveal/Lesson Learned)  
Melody of Twilight by Derek and Brandon Fiechter (Ending)  



End file.
